Agrichemicals

CHEMICAL BIODEGRADABILITY

A range on non-target plants (NTP) are screened for damage symptoms that may be due to herbicide carryover via agricultural composts.

Woods End’s agrichemical fate and effects lab is designed to bioassay for residues of plant damaging trace herbicides and to characterize half-life kinetics for test substances undergoing soil and compost biodegradation.

Woods End has the most developed and experienced bioassay program for compost products.

The compost industry has been subjected to highly varying information about dangers of herbicide residues in composts. Our lab group sets up dose-response bioassays and from this can accurately estimate risk levels associated with proposed application rates. This leads to informed use and customer satisfaction.

The principle agents that we are skilled to evaluate via bioassays are auxin-mimic herbicides. Laboratory professional fate-and-effects studies include:

Post-depuration bioassays;

Composting half-life kinetics;

Post application field dissipation;

Soil incorporation dissipation.

The outcome of the evaluation includes but is not limited to : half-life kinetics, absence of plant symptomology; TC25 / TC50 bio-assay results.

Chemical Carryover Four compost with low to high herbicide impact.

FIELD DISSIPATION: After application, herbicides are examined for dissipation in plots studies up to 1 year